The present situation of daily life of tuberculosis patients treated in hospitals with beds for tuberculosis in Japan

Abstract

We sent a questionnaire to hospitals with beds for tuberculosis in Japan to know current situation of daily life of tuberculosis patients treated in hospitals. It was evident that some services of daily life facilities was delayed; e.g. the difficulty in using stores in a hospital, no dining rooms and no installation of a personal television set. The use of personal computers was not allowed in many hospitals. Tuberculosis patients were subjected to a marked restriction in the hospital in spite of their isolation from the family and the society. Patients were prohibited to go out from the ward except when they undergo certain examinations in the hospitals, to take a walk in the hospital compound and to go out or stay overnight outside the hospital. In the majority of hospitals, patients were allowed to take a walk or to stay overnight outside the hospital only after the negative conversion of tubercle bacilli in sputum. Judging from the above findings, it appears that many tuberculosis patients under hospital treatment are not spending a pleasant daily hospital life.